Draft Preview: Pennsylvania

In
the weeks leading up to the draft, Perfect Game will be providing a
detailed overview of each state in the U.S., including the District
of Columbia, as well as Canada and Puerto Rico. These overviews will
list the state's strengths, weaknesses and the players with the best
tools, as well as providing scouting reports on all Group 1 and 2
players as ranked in Perfect Game's state-by-state scouting lists.

Contributing: David
RawnsleyPennsylvania State-by-State List2011 Pennsylvania Overview
Pennsylvania
Overview:Typical
Year for Pennsylvania With Little Talent in D-I ProgramsOnce
again, the best talent in Pennsyvlania this year is concentrated in
the high school crop, with Garnet Valley High third baseman/shortstop
Joe DeCarlo and Twin Valley High righthander Jared Price projected to
go 1-2.
The
talent in the Pennsylvania Division I college crop is sparse, and the
possibility exists that no player will be drafted in the first 10
rounds, though Penn State lefthander Joe Kurrasch, a transfer from
the University of California, is given a fair chance of slipping into
the back end. Predictably, none of Pennsylvania’s D-I teams came
close to advancing to the 64-team NCAA tournament, with only Penn
State (29-26) and Villanova (28-27) even producing records above
.500.
Similar
to recent years, the best college baseball in the state has been
played at the small-college levels. West Chester University (44-10)
advanced to the NCAA Division II World Series, Point Park College
(52-9) advanced to the NAIA World Series and Lackawanna College
(46-10) advanced to the National Junior College Division II World
Series. Keystone College (37-8) narrowly missed making a return visit
to the Division III World Series, losing out in regional play. Not
surprisingly, those teams could impact the draft in their own way to
a greater degree than any of the state’s Division I programs.
Lackawanna
lefthander Chris Kirsch, for starters, has a good chance to become
the first non-high-school player drafted from Pennsylvania, while
West Chester second baseman Joe Wendle could be the first four-year
player selected. And Keystone, despite its Division III designation,
could end up making a greater overall impact than any team with
senior righthander Blaine O’Brien, sophomore righthander Rob Rogers
and senior second baseman Esteban Meletiche all possibilities in the
top 12-15 rounds.
In
the grand scheme of things, it’s not like Pennsylvania pulls up a
little short each year in producing its fair share of talent. It’s
just that most of the elite-level prospects with state connections
inevitably end up at out-of-state colleges. And there’s nothing new
on that front this year as the state’s top nine prep prospects, led
by DeCarlo (Georgia) and Price (Maryland), are earmarked again for
non-Pennsylvania colleges, if they don’t sign professional
contracts in the meantime. It’s possible none will.
Pennsylvania
actually stacks up favorably with many other talent-producing states
around the country. Among players being produced in the nation’s
prep ranks each year, 260 in the eight-year period from 2004-11 that
went on to be drafted came from Pennsylvania, placing the state 11th overall nationally. Most of that talent, however, ends up either
signing professionally or heads off to out-of-state college teams,
where the weather is a little warmer and the competition a little
stiffer.Pennsylvania
in a nutshell:
STRENGTH:
Small-college talent.WEAKNESS:
Division I players.OVERALL
RATING
(1-to-5 scale): 3.BEST
COLLEGE TEAM:
West Chester.BEST
JUNIOR-COLLEGE TEAM:
Lackawanna.BEST
HIGH SCHOOL TEAM:
Hopewell HS.PROSPECT
ON THE RISE: Chris Kirsch, lhp, Lackawanna JC. Kirsch
has surprised scouts twice before by not agreeing to terms, when all
the indicators pointed to his being an easy sign. But there should be
little reason for Kirsch not to come out this time after a dominant
season at the junior-college level (10-1, 1.80), while showing scouts
almost all they want to see in a projectable 6-foot-3 lefthander.WILD
CARD: Danny Rosenbaum, 3b, Chestnut Hill Academy, Lafayette Hill.
Scouts
haven’t had a fair opportunity to evaluate Rosenbaum in a normal
high-school environment this spring as he was ineligible to play for
his high-school team, having played as an eighth-grader for Chestnut
Hill Academy, and effectively using up his four years of high-school
eligibility a year ago. He has spent the spring playing in a local
amateur league with older players.BEST
OUT-OF-STATE PROSPECT, Pennsylvania Connection:
Travis Jankowski, of, Stony Brook University (Attended high school in
Lancaster).Top
2013 Prospect:
Alex Haines, lhp, Seton Hill University.Top2014
Prospect:
Boo Vasquez, of, University of Pittsburgh.HIGHEST
DRAFT PICKS
Draft
History:
Al Chambers, 1b, John Harris HS, Harrisburg (1979, Mariners/1st round, 1st pick); Shawn Abner, of, Mechanicsburg HS (1984, Mets/1st round, 1st pick).2006
Draft: Kevin
Mulvey, rhp, Villanova University (Mets/2nd round).2007
Draft: Devin
Mesoraco, c, Punxsutawney HS (Reds/1st round, 15th pick).2008
Draft: Drew
O’Neil, rhp, Penn State University (White Sox/4th round).2009
Draft: Darin
Gorski, lhp, Kutztown University (Mets/7th round).2010
Draft: Jesse
Biddle, lhp, Germantown Friends Academy (Phillies/1st round, 27th pick).2011
Draft: Cam
Gallagher, c, Manheim Township HS, Lancaster (Royals/2nd round).2011
DRAFT OVERVIEW
College
Players Drafted/Signed:
19/16.Junior
College Players Drafted/Signed:
1/0.High
School Players Drafted/Signed:
15/5.BEST
TOOLS
Best
Athlete: Esteban
Meletiche, 2b, Keystone College.Best
Hitter:
Joe DeCarlo, 3b, Garnet Valley HS, Glen Mills.Best
Power:
Jordan Steranka, 1b/3b, Penn State University.Best
Speed:
Esteban Meletiche, 2b, Keystone College.Best
Defender:
Joe Wendle, 2b, West Chester University.Best
Velocity:
Jared Price, rhp, Twin Valley HS, Mohnton.Best
Breaking Stuff:Jake
Drossner, lhp, Council Rock North HS, Richboro.Best
Pitchability: Joe
Kurrasch, lhp, Penn State University.TOP
PROSPECTS, GROUPS ONE and TWO
GROUP ONE (Projected
ELITE-Round Draft / Rounds 1-3)1. JOE DeCARLO,
3b/ss, Garnet Valley HS, Glen MillsDeCarlo
is one of the most-obscure top high-school prospects in the 2012
class, mainly because he played all last summer for the
Cincinnati-based Midland Redskins, the 2011 Connie Mack World Series
champions, and didn’t take time off to participate in any
national-level showcase events that scouts frequented. But
national-level scouts have quickly determined this spring that there
is very little fundamentally different between the 6-foot-1,
205-pound DeCarlo and other top prep third basemen around the
country, such as southern California’s Daniel Robertson, who has
been pegged by some teams as a possible sandwich pick. DeCarlo is a
powerful righthanded hitter with a very sound approach at the plate
and polished swing mechanics. He is a line-drive machine with plus
raw bat speed. His power comes more from just being strong and
squaring up balls consistently, and stems more from creating lift and
length in his swing, much as Robertson does. DeCarlo plays mostly
shortstop at the high-school level, but projects best at third base
at the next level. He has very good footwork defensively at that
position, with soft hands and a solid-average to plus arm across the
diamond. He can also touch 90 mph off the mound. DeCarlo has signed
with Georgia and should have no problem adjusting to Southeastern
Conference pitching should he decide to skip pro ball and go to
school.

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